The average cost of a square metre of empty building land reached a record high in Germany last year, according to new figures from the Federal Statistical Office. 

Building land reaches record price per square metre

One square metre of building land in Germany now costs an average of 199 euros, the Federal Statistical Office revealed this week - the highest value it’s ever been. The year before, in 2019, the average price was 190 euros per square metre, and in 2010 it was 130 euros. The cost of building land has therefore increased by more than 53 percent in the space of 10 years.

As to be expected, the statisticians found huge regional differences within Germany, with prices varying from more than nearly 350 euros per square metre in some federal states, to less than 50 euros in others. Top of the list of expensive places to build are Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where a square metre of land costs 349 euros and 245 euros per square metre, respectively. 

On the other hand, land can be bought comparatively cheaply in federal states like Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where a square metre costs between 46 and 63 euros. 

Cost of land up to 17 times higher in large German cities

“In principle, the average purchase value increases with the size of the municipality,” explained the Federal Statistical Office. In municipalities with fewer than 2.000 inhabitants, a square metre costs an average of 71 euros, whereas in the 14 largest German cities - which each have at least 500.000 inhabitants - the price averages at 1.213 euros, 17 times as much. 

Both low interest rates and the ongoing demand for living space, especially in metropolitan areas, are fuelling the price hike. As the cost of land rises, it pushes up the price of buying a house and even renting in Germany. Rising construction costs, the result of a scarcity of building materials, have also contributed to this.